Guest guest Posted June 16, 1999 Report Share Posted June 16, 1999 AUM shriimaatre namaH This post has upto the pallavi of the composition. In the next post we will discuss anupallavi. You can access this document from http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Atlantis/7587/meenakshi/shyama1.html This is a rough draft and many things have to be corrected and improved in the text. Till I complete this work, I have decided to suspend the postings on shrI miinaakShii pa~nchratnam.h. Ravi ------------------------------ devii miinanetrii A commentary on shrii shyaama shaastri's Composition by shrii naadapriyan Translated to English by Mayavaram Ravisankar 1. INTRODUCTION The composition "devii miinanetrii" is one of the nine compositions of the great carnatic music composer shrii shyaama shaastri on shrii miinaakShii amman. These nine compositions are known as navaratna maalaa kR^iti-s (a garland of nine precious gems). In this article a commentary on the composition "devii miinanetrii" is presented. The commentary was written in thamizh by shrii naadapriyan and a translation is presented here. The words in languages samSkR^itam.h, telugu, and thamizh are typed using ITRANS 5.2 transliteration scheme. 2. ABOUT THE COMPOSER 2.1 A Brief Biography shrii shyaama shaastri was born in the chitrabhaanu year in vaisaakha maasa shukla pakSham.h under the star kR^ittika and meSha raashi. This corresponds to the date April 26th 1762. He was named as ve~NkaTa subrahmanya by his parents shrii vishvanaatha aiyar and shriimati vE~NgalakShmi. During the time his parents were longing for child, they attended shrii ve~NkaTaachalapathy samaaraadhana in one of their friend's house. At that place, one of the elders,overcome with devotional fervour, prophesized that a child will be born to them and he will gladden the heart of bhakta-s, for that purpose they should do samaaraadhana to shrii ve~NkaTeshvara for year (once a month). Since the child was born on kR^ittikaa nakShatram.h which is lord subrahmanya's star and due to the blessing of the Lord of seven hills, his name was chosen as vE~NkaTa subrahmanya. But later, he became well known by his pet name shyaama. shyaama shaastri did gladden the heart of devii upaasakas with his beautiful kR^iti-s on shrii maata. Of all the kR^iti-s composed by shyaama shaastri, only two were not on devi (one on shrii muttu kumaarasvaami of vaidiishvaran kOvil and other on varadaraajasvaami of kaa~nchi). In this text, one of the navaratna mala kR^iti-s (there nine kR^iti-s made shaastri famous) offered as a naada neivedyam to shrii minaakShi, "devii miina netrii" will be discussed. Due to the scope of the text, we will not be going into great detail about the interesting life of shrii shyaama shaastri. It can be found in the biography written by Vidya Shankar. shrii shyaama shaastri was a contemporary of shrii muttusvaami diikShitar and shrii tyaagaraaja. Like them he was also born in the town thiruvaarur. He is elder to both of them. It is indeed a wonderful episode in the history of the karNaataka sa.ngiitam.h that these three greats, interacted and sung together many times. It is interesting to note that one of shyaama shaastri's son shrii subbaraaya shaastri learnt music under all three of them (indirectly from shrii dikShitar, he was student of shrii tyaagaraaja, and it is needless to say that his father also taught him). 2.2 Language of Composition shrii shyaama shaastri mostly wrote in telugu and he has few compositions in saMskR^itam.h and thamizh also. Even though his mother tongue was thamizh, he was well trained in telugu by his father. The kR^iti of this text is also written in the telugu language. Telugu is well known for its musical nature. This is due to the brilliant combination of saMskritam and thamizh words, with sonorous vibhakti-s. For instance the word "nammiti" renders itself well for singing in correspondence to the thamizh word nambinEn (which means "I believe") A comparison: sharaNaagata rakShaki niivEyani sadaa ninnu nammiti miinaakShii in thamizh this will read as sharaNaagata rakShaki niiyEyena sadaa ninnai nambinEn miinaakShii in pure thamizh (with no saMskR^itam.h words) aDaikkalam enROr thamaikkaappavaL niiyEyena enRumunai nambinEn a~NkayaRkaNammE (You alone save those who surrender to you, knowing this, I have surrendered and placed full trust in you O miinaakshii) 2.3 Background of navaratnamaalika kR^iti-s The navaratnamaalika kR^iti-s on shrii miinaakShii amman were created after the following incident. Once shrii shyaama shaastri went to pudukkOTTai in thamizh naaDu to worship shrii bR^ihadambaa. When he was singing kR^iti-s in praise of the bR^ihannaayaki, an old man in the temple went into a devotional rapture. He asked shyaama shaastri to go to madurai and sing in praise of shrii miinaakShii amman. After returning to his home, shrii shyaama shaastri decided to compose nine kR^iti-s on ambaaL and dedicate it to HER as a navaratnamaala - "A garland made of nine precious gems", Then he composed the first seven kR^iti-s. Immersed in the worship of ba.ngaaru kaamaakShii in their family temple, he forgot the endeavour he started. One night, the same old man appeared in his dream and urged shyaama shaastri to finish the remaining kR^iti-s and start immediately to madurai. shyaama shaastri realized his lapse and started immediately to madurai and composed the remaining two kR^iti-s on the way. The devi miina netrii kR^iti is one of the nine gems in the maalaa set in the raagaM sha.nkaraabharaNam. These kR^iti-s not only brought joy to bhakta-s, but enormous fame to shyaama shaastri in the world of karNaaTaka sa.ngiitaM. Some consider that the old man was none but Lord sundareshvara who wanted to hear the glories of HIS wife. They call all HIS liila-s as thiruviLaiyaaDal in thamizh, all HIS sports bring joy to the world of bhakta-s. As the readers might know, shrii shyaama shaastrii and shrii muttusvaami diikShitar[1] are contemporaries. shrii subbaraaya shaastri, one of the sons of shrii shyaama shaastrii indeed had an enviable position. He was taught formally by the great tyaagaraaja and his father also taught him. Constant interactions with shrii diikShitar, also helped different aspects of karNaaTaka sa.ngiitaM. To be taught and groomed by the three greatest composers of the karNaaTaka sa.ngiitaM must a be result of great puurva janma puNyam. On one occasion, shrii shyaama shaastrii along with his son to shrii diikShitar's house to discuss some aspects of music. During the meeting shrii shyaama shaastri asked his son to sing the kR^iti set in sha.nkaraabharaNam. In the navaratnamaala, there is one more kR^iti beginning with "sarOjadaLa netrii ..." set in the raagam sha.nkaraabharaNam. Since sarOjadaLa netrii was a smaller kR^iti, shrii subbaraaya shaastri chose to sing that. Then shyaama shaastri asked his son to sing the devii miinaanetri kR^iti which he originally had in mind (and also remarked that he knew that his son will go for the smaller composition ;-) ). There was another reason for shyaama shaastri asking his son to sing this KR^iti. As the world of karnaaTaka sa.ngiitaM knows, shrii diikShitar is famous for slow paced compositions and this kR^iti which has a 3 charaNam verse is long and slow paced. It was needless to say that when that kR^iti was sung shrii diikShitar went into devotional raptures* The composition "devii miinanetrii ..." is the first of the navaratnamaalika kR^iti-s by shrii shyaama shaastri. This composition is set in raagam sha.nkaraabharaNam and begins with the line "devii miinanetrii brova raave". The term navaratna maalaa means a garland made of nine precious gems. It is indeed a fitting tribute to shrii miinaakShii devii to offer the first gem in the raagam sha.nkaraabharaNam. The name sha.nkaraabharaNam means an ornament of Lord shiva. ambaaL who is the power of Lord shiva (refer to the verse shiva shaktyaa yuktau of saundarya laharii) adorns him splendidly and SHE is no comparison to the other inanimate ornaments. Hence, the shrii shaastrii's tribute to ambaaL in the raagam sha.nkaraabharaNam is very apt. It gladdens the hearts of the countless devotees of the divine mother that Lord himself (in the form of a old man) inspired shrii shaastri to offer this jewel to HIS beloved consort umaa. Hence, it is the Lord who presented this jewel through the medium of shrii shyaama shaastri. And ambaaL accepted this naada naivedyam (musical offering) and blessed shrii shyaama shaastri. 3. The kR^iti The kiirtanam "devii miinanetrii" is a long composition and has three charaNam-s (stanza-s). This kiirtanam celebrates shrii miinaakShii devii as shrii baalaa tripura sundari. pallavi devii miinanetrii brova raave daya cheyave brova raavamma anupallavi sEvinchE vaarikellanu chintaamaNiyai unnaara charaNam baala niive gatiyani ninne chaalaa nammina naapai paraakEla dayacheya niikidi mElaa divyaambaa kaalaa divi raaNii sadguNa shiilaa kiiravaaNii devii niila niirada veNii triloka jananii devii maheshvarii bhavanii || 1 || ambaa mukha nirjita shatadhara bimbaa rakShita devataambaa nata nijasR^ita guha herambaambaa shyaamaLaamba bimbaadharii gaurii kaadamba vihaarii ambaa kambukanThi himashaila vR^ikSha paalikaa devii baalambikaa ambaa || 2 || vaaNii ramaa va.ndita rudraaNii nii saaTevaru kalyaaNii shyaama kR^iShNa nuta kiiravaaNii sharvaaNii viiNaa vinodinii shrii chakra koNa nivaasini giirvaaNa vandita padaaravindaa shivaa devii kaatyaayanii ambaa || 3 || 4. COMMENTARY 4.1 pallavi devii miinanetrii brovaraavE daya chEyavE brovaraavammaa Meaning devii = O Divine mother miinanetrii = whose eyes are like a fish brova = to save raave = come (singular) daya = grace chEyavE = to do brova = to protect raa = come amma = O mother O Divine Mother! shrii miinanetrii! Come quickly to protect me and bestow Thu grace upon me. In the pallavi, shrii shyaama shaastri pleads to ambaa to quickly come and protect him. By the repetition of the term "brova raa", urgency of the need is implied. The name miinanetrii which is synonymous to miinaakShii and miinalochanii (names commonly used to refer to ambaaL presiding in madurai) means whose eyes are beautiful like a fish (in shape). Tradition holds that the fish protects and hatches the eggs by looking at them intently (without blinking) with its eyes. Hence, this name is apt for ambaaL. HER eyes are beautifully shaped like fishes and also, SHE protects all the worlds constantly looking at them with love without even blinking HER eyes. What will happen if SHE blinks HER eyes? The whole cosmos will perish! The dR^iShTi - shr^iShTi vaadam applies only to HER. The Universe is created when SHE opens HER eyes and it is destroyed when SHE closes them. For this purpose, out of infinite love and compassion, ambaaL does not blink HER eyes (like a fish), hence, the name is even more apt to HER.[2] In the word "raavE", the term "ra" is used in singular form and ends with vE, it becomes even more personal. This usage is often applicable to one who is younger and inferior in a day-to-day usage. But the only exception is the Divine Mother, where such a usage indicates the highest level of closeness and love. shrii shyaama shaastri uses it very naturally to ambaaL and it indicates his bhakti and the bond he had with ambaaL [3]. Cold words in print cannot often convey the bhaavam and bhakti behind the words. Here, the usage of brovaraavE and again brovaraavamma indicates the cajoling nature of the plea which a little child often uses to convince its need to the mother. 4.2 anupallavi 4.3 charaNam 5. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 shriimati Vidya Shankar 2 shrii lalitaa sahasranaamam 3.shrii lalitaa trishatii 4.saundarya laharii 6. NOTES [1] shrii muttusvaami diikShitar was a great devotee of shrii miinaakShii amman. He left the world singing "miinalochanii paashamochanii shive paahi paahii". ambaaL who is known as kaivalya praadaayini, earlier had promised him that SHE will come at his last moments and grant him liberation. [2] A verse in saundaryalaharii explicitly mentions about this dr^iShTi-shr^iShTi vaadam. nimeShonmeShaabhyaaM pralayamudayaM yaati jagatii tavetyaahuH santo dharaNidhararaajanyatanaye | tvadunmeShaajjaataM jagadidamasheShaM pralayataH paritraatuM sha~Nke parihR^itanimeShaastava dR^ishaH ||55 || O parvata raaja kumaarii, paarvatii! Wise ones say that when you open your eyelids the cosmos is created and when you close them, it is destroyed. I think for this reason you are looking intently at the Universe with an indescribable compassion without blinking (your eyes) in order to protect it. Here the specific reference to paarvatii is apt since SHE taught the dR^iShTi-shR^iShTi vaadam to HER father himavaan.h (vide devi giita). This verse celebrates the parama kaaruNya bhaavam of ambaaL. One of the names in shrii lalitaasahasranaamam, unmeshha nimishhotpanna vipanna bhuvanaavalii also gives a pointer to this aspect of ambaaL. This name means, "She who causes a series of worlds to arise and disappear with the opening and closing of Her eyes " [3] In Tamil, bhaaratii uses it to ambaaL (example nallathOr viiNai cheythe athai nalangeta puzhithiyil eRivathuNDo, chollaDi shivashaktii ...) and such a usage adds intensity and force in Tamil language. ------ eGroups.com home: - Simplifying group communications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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